Are Large Predators Keystone Species in Neotropical Forests? The Evidence from Barro Colorado Island

Oikos ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 279 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Joseph Wright ◽  
Matthew E. Gompper ◽  
Bonifacio DeLeon
Keyword(s):  
Keystone Species ◽  
Barro Colorado Island ◽  
Neotropical Forests ◽  
Large Predators

Flowering and fruiting phenologies of seasonal and aseasonal neotropical forests: the role of annual changes in irradiance

2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jess K. Zimmerman ◽  
S. Joseph Wright ◽  
O. Calderón ◽  
M. Aponte Pagan ◽  
S. Paton
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Seasonal Variation ◽  
Solar Irradiance ◽  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Light Availability ◽  
Barro Colorado Island ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Neotropical Forests ◽  
Seasonally Dry ◽  
Solar Declination

The seasonality of both rainfall and solar irradiance might influence the evolution of flowering and fruiting in tropical forests. In seasonally dry forests, to the degree that soil moisture limits plant productivity, community-wide peaks in reproduction are expected during the rainy season, with seedfall and germination timed to allow seedlings to become well established while soil moisture is available. Where soil moisture is never seasonally limiting, seasonal changes in light availability caused by periods of cloudiness or seasonally low zenithal sun angles should favour reproduction during seasons when irradiance levels are high. To evaluate these predictions, we documented the timing of flower and fruit fall for 10 and 15 y at El Verde, Puerto Rico, and Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama. At El Verde, rainfall is abundant year-round and solar declination largely determines seasonal variation in irradiance. At BCI, rainfall is abundant throughout the 8-mo wet season while drought develops and average solar irradiance increases by 40–50% over the 4-mo dry season. Seasonal variation in the number of species flowering and fruiting at both sites was generally consistent with the hypothesis that seasonal variation in irradiance limits the evolution of reproductive phenologies. Community-level metrics provided no evidence for a similar role for moisture availability at BCI. Seasonal variation in irradiance also strongly influenced seed development times at both sites. Thus, community-wide phenologies reveal a strong signature of seasonal changes in irradiance, even in those forests that exhibit some degree of seasonality in rainfall.

Frugivores at a fruiting Ficus in south-eastern Peru

2003 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 717-721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose G. Tello
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Keystone Species ◽  
Resource Scarcity ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Neotropical Forests ◽  
Canopy Trees ◽  
Seed Dispersers ◽  
Primate Community ◽  
Manu National Park

In neotropical forests, 50–90% of the canopy trees bear fruits adapted for animal dispersal whereas close to 100% of the shrubs and sub-canopy trees produce fleshy fruits (Howe & Smallwood 1982). It has been suggested that during periods of fruit scarcity, some plant species perform a critical role in the forest ecosystem by sustaining frugivorous animals that are important dispersal agents for seeds of many other trees during other seasons of the year (Howe 1984, Terborgh 1986a). Loss or absence of those seed dispersers would have strong negative consequences for tree species, thereby affecting the health of the entire ecosystem, over time. For that reason, plant species that sustain frugivores (= seed dispersers) during periods of resource scarcity have been called ‘keystone species’ (Gilbert 1980, Howe 1984, Terborgh 1983, 1986a, b; van Schaik et al. 1993). For example, in the tropical rain forest of Manu National Park, Peru, Terborgh (1983) found that figs, palm nuts and nectar are resources of great importance for the primate community during periods of fruit scarcity. During that season, three species of fig were identified as keystone resources maintaining nearly 40% of the animal biomass in the ecosystem (Terborgh 1983).

scholarly journals Eciton Army Ants—Umbrella Species for Conservation in Neotropical Forests

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 136
Author(s):  
Sílvia Pérez-Espona
Keyword(s):  
Forest Fragmentation ◽  
Keystone Species ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Army Ants ◽  
Neotropical Forests ◽  
Umbrella Species ◽  
Priority Areas ◽  
Army Ant ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Impact

Identification of priority areas for conservation is crucial for the maintenance and protection of biodiversity, particularly in tropical forests where biodiversity continues to be lost at alarming rates. Surveys and research on umbrella species can provide efficient and effective approaches to identify potential areas for conservation at small geographical scales. Army ants of the genus Eciton are keystone species in neotropical forests due to their major role as top predators and due to the numerous vertebrate- and invertebrate associated species that depend upon their colonies for survival. These associates range from the iconic army ant-following birds to a wide range of arthropod groups, some of which have evolved intricate morphological, behavioural and/or chemical strategies to conceal their presence and integrate into the colony life. Furthermore, Eciton colonies require large forested areas that support a diverse leaf litter prey community and several field-based and genetic studies have demonstrated the negative consequences of forest fragmentation for the long-term maintenance of these colonies. Therefore, Eciton species will not only act as umbrella for their associates but also for many other species in neotropical forests, in particular for those that require a large extent of forest. This review summarises past and recent accounts of the main taxonomic groups found associated with Eciton colonies, as well research assessing the impact of forest fragmentation on this army ant, to encourage the adoption of Eciton army ants as umbrella species for the identification of priority areas for conservation and assessments of the effect of disturbance in neotropical forests.

scholarly journals Caenorhabditis nematodes colonize ephemeral resource patches in neotropical forests.

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solomon A Sloat ◽  
Luke M Noble ◽  
Annalise B Paaby ◽  
Max Bernstein ◽  
Audrey Chang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Barro Colorado Island ◽  
Neotropical Forests ◽  
Colonization Event ◽  
Species Groups ◽  
Resource Patches ◽  
Globally Distributed

Factors shaping the distribution and abundance of species include life-history traits, population structure, and stochastic colonization-extinction dynamics. Field studies of model species groups help reveal the roles of these factors. Species of Caenorhabditis nematodes are highly divergent at the sequence level but exhibit highly conserved morphological uniformity, and many of these species live in sympatry on microbe-rich patches of rotten material. Here, we use field experiments and large-scale opportunistic collections to investigate species composition, abundance, and colonization efficiency of Caenorhabditis in two of the world's best studied lowland tropical field sites: Barro Colorado Island in Panamá and La Selva in Sarapiquí, Costa Rica. We observed seven species of Caenorhabditis, four of them known only from these collections. While these localities contain species from many parts of the phylogeny, both localities were dominated by globally distributed androdiecious species. We found that Caenorhabditis were able to colonize baits accessible only by phoresy, preferring to colonize baits making direct contact with the ground. We estimate founder numbers per colonization event to be low.

Trophic position scales positively with body size within but not among four species of rocky reef predators

2020 ◽  
Vol 640 ◽  
pp. 189-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
AM Olson ◽  
A Frid ◽  
JBQ dos Santos ◽  
F Juanes
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Trophic Position ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Rocky Reef ◽  
Morphometric Traits ◽  
Predator Species ◽  
Predatory Fishes ◽  
Average Size ◽  
Interspecific Comparisons ◽  
Large Predators

Intra- and interspecifically, larger-bodied predators generally occupy higher trophic positions (TPs). With widespread declines in large predators, there is a need to understand their size-based trophic roles to predict ecosystem-level responses. In British Columbia, Canada, we examined size-based trophic interactions between predatory fishes—3 rockfish species (genus Sebastes) and lingcod Ophiodon elongatus—and their prey, converting predator δ15N signatures to TP and analyzing stomach contents. Intraspecifically, TP scaled positively with predator length and gape width, but the rates of change varied by species. Interspecifically, TP did not scale positively with the observed mean sizes or known maximum sizes of species. Lingcod TP was lower than that of yelloweye and quillback rockfishes, which were 51 and 37%, respectively, smaller than lingcod. Yellowtail rockfish had the smallest average size, yet their mean TP did not differ significantly from that of lingcod. Neither species differences in some morphometric traits known to influence body size-TP relationships nor phylogenetic history explained these results. Most prey consumed were <20% of the predator’s size, which might partially explain the lack of a size-based trophic hierarchy among species. Currently, large size classes of rockfishes are being lost due to fisheries and perhaps climate-driven changes. Our findings on intraspecific size-TP relationships indicate that fishery removals of large individuals may diminish trophic structures. Interspecific comparisons of TP suggest that, along with size, species remain an important factor in understanding trophic dynamics. In addition, smaller-bodied predator species may have significant ecological roles to be considered in ecosystem-based fisheries management.

Keystone species of fish community structure in the Bohai Sea

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 229
Author(s):  
Zhongyi LI ◽  
Qiang WU ◽  
Xiujuan SHAN ◽  
Tao YANG ◽  
Fangqun DAI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Bohai Sea ◽  
Keystone Species ◽  
Fish Community Structure ◽  
The Bohai Sea

Keystone species determine the “selection mechanism” of multispecies biofilms for bacteria from soil aggregates

2021 ◽  
Vol 773 ◽  
pp. 145069
Author(s):  
Xiang Xiong ◽  
Yanfang Xing ◽  
Jinzhi He ◽  
Li Wang ◽  
Zhenzhen Shen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Aggregates ◽  
Keystone Species ◽  
Selection Mechanism ◽  
Multispecies Biofilms

scholarly journals Lutz Creek watershed, Barro Colorado Island, Republic of Panama

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew C. Larsen ◽  
Robert F. Stallard ◽  
Steven Paton
Keyword(s):  
Barro Colorado Island ◽  
Creek Watershed
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document